Shades Of Gray
by TearsOfNightfall
Summary: Several years after the events of Lunatea's Veil, the area is thrown into dissaray with the death of the High Priestess. And meanwhile, Leorina and Tat are at it again, but when they make a particularly odd discovery, are they in over their heads?
1. Prologue: The Theft

**Disclaimer:** I, as I'm sure you expected, do not in any way own Klonoa or any related characters. The Klonoa series is owned by Namco.

_Notes: This has nothing to do with my other current fic, "The Dark Sapphire", in anyway whatsoever._

_Also, this story is supposed to take place directly after Lunatea's Veil, without any of the other games ever taking place in-between. This is actually set quite a few years after the ending though, so the characters are a bit older – Klonoa and Lolo being in their late teens, for example._

_The main characters here will be Leorina and Tat, but I will try to use quite a few of the series' characters this time round. _

_I wasn't actually planning on starting a new fic until after "The Dark Sapphire" was finished, but considering that I've been working on it almost exclusively since February, I thought it might do me (and my writing) good to take a quick break from it – though I do have some of the next chapter written for that story as well._

"_The Dark Sapphire" will however take priority over this fic until it is finished, which hopefully should not be _too _long._

* * *

**Prologue: **

Tat hurried down the hall, careful not to be seen – her leg-less form able to float silently through the corridor without the disturbance of footsteps.

It was after midnight, and all the occupants of the cathedral should have been sleeping soundly in their own private dorms, well away from the place the feline puppet-like creature was headed towards.

The only light that pierced the area between the hollow space between the walls was dim firelight, shining out from the sweetly scented candles that lined the stone boundaries. Times like these were when she was thankful to have the vision of cat, one eye or not.

It was completely still, and only the crackling of the small, feeble flames could be heard, and that was only if you stopped and listened intentionally. It seemed almost un-natural, reminding Tat of how much she was not supposed to be there. Admittedly, she found the thick silence a bit disturbing, knowing that any sound she made would be repeated back to her indefinitely, combating the hush of the place until it eventually lost and was swallowed up.

She still thought Leorina was out of her mind, ordering her to steal from, of all places, the temple. Why there? Sure, they needed some extra cash to complete their projects for the Kingdom of Sorrow, but couldn't she have picked somewhere a little less…sacred? There reputation was finally beginning to heal, but if they were caught…

Inside herself, Tat secretly found the whole endeavor rather heartless as well, considering the events that had recently taken place there. A strange illness had taken the life of the High Priestess, and all of La-lookasha had been in disarray ever since.

Leorina however, was all to eager too take advantage of the situation, knowing perhaps too well of the wealth that was kept within the temple. Despite not exactly feeling good about what they were doing, Tat never said anything of course. How could she? After all, she wouldn't be anything without her leader...

The feline finally came to stop as a large, arched doorway came into sight: the entrance that lead to the currently vacant room of the High Priestess.

Cautiously, keeping herself pined against the wall on the left side of the slightly open door, she peeked around the edge of the entrance, though finding nothing but the same emptiness that embodied the rest of sanctuary. She breathed a sigh of relief – at last satisfied that she was alone.

The thief entered the large space, gazing around at all strange objects that lay neatly on the shelves. Most likely, it had all been there for generations, seeing as that the most precious items were passed down to each High Priestess – belonging not to a single person, but to the temple itself.

Wasn't the next day the initiation of the new High Priestess? She wondered, trying to recall the rumors that were floating around. Lydia, her name was. Not that it really mattered, once a Priestess was accepted for the position, their identity seemed to vanish anyway, the person becoming only their role.

Tat never understood why anyone would want to live the way the occupants of the cathedral did. A strict set of rules, a rigid schedule every single day, and individuality kept to a minimum – the association as a whole being honored and respected over any individual person. And not to mention the restrictions placed on their love lives.

The Priestesses at the temple were not to marry unless the proposed partner was explicitly approved by the High Priestess, and they then had to except almost a hundred different vows – each punishable if broken. They were hardly even allowed to hold hands until these ceremonies took place, and if a couple even dared to do something 'terrible' like _kiss_…well… Tat smiled in spite of herself, almost giggling at the memories creeping up on her. What a terrible place this was, indeed!

Oh, yes, the money box! The thief finally remembered. Where was it again?

The chest she was after was where all of the temple's saved cash was kept, and quite a bit that was too! Thankfully, she hadn't been ordered to steal the whole thing, just enough for her and Leorina to finish sponsoring their projects for the nearly fully-built Kingdom of Sorrow.

Such things as the location of the money were a secret only known by the church's inhabitants, but Leorina had spent enough time there to know those kinds of things…

Tat recalled the older sky pirate's past, struggling for status within the walls of the very cathedral she was standing in now. She couldn't help but wonder if this theft assignment meant that Leorina still had something against the temple.

Still, now was not the time to wonder about that. Tat snapped Leorina's explanations of her task back into her mind, forcing her other thoughts away.

So, the box was usually kept near the throne, right? Just as she was about to search for her target, something else caught her eye – a huge, old looking book that was spread out on the table that was in the middle of the room. What was that doing out? It looked like something that belonged on one of those shelves. She went over to take a look, unable to deny her child-like curiosity – regardless of the fact that she was no longer that young.

The pages were tanned and frail, the dust covering them hinting that it hadn't seen much use. Tat carefully flipped through the thin pieces of paper. What strange letters – they didn't seem to be from any Lunatean language that she recognized.

Unable to read the words, she instead took to glancing over the pictures that decorated the pages. Many were of various strange creatures that she had never seen anything like before, and there were also lots of odd symbols – the meanings of which she had no idea. She found herself somewhat mesmerized by the enchanting drawings and shapes, starting to forget again what it was she was supposed to be doing.

As she was absentmindedly running her hand across the thick crease of pages, focusing on the book's contents, she felt something slice across one of her fingers, giving her a paper cut. She stifled a cry as she lifted the stinging finger to her lips, sucking on it to try to ease the pain.

Taking a closer look at the place she had first felt the cut, she could see that the culprit was a bookmark tucked between two pages near the back of the book. After a cautious glance behind her ensured that no one was coming, she flipped open to the marked page.

She found herself staring at another block of un-readable text and a picture of a ring with a symbol behind it. The emblem was a wavy circular design, reminding Tat slightly of the air or the wind, and the ring itself was oddly basic in appearance. Regardless though, she couldn't help but think that it looked a bit familiar to her. The rim was gold and rounded all the way around, until it reached a large turquoise gem at the top, held on by two thin golden curls. All at once, her thoughts reached back to several years ago – a similar picture forming in her mind. _Wait, is that?_

"Come on Popka, this is ridiculous! It's two-thirty in the morning and we should be in bed! Just _what_ are we looking for?"

Tat almost jumped at the sudden voice, her train of thought lost. The words sounded both groggy and irritable at the same time, and not to mention very near. The thief quickly left the book and ducked under the table, seeing nowhere else to take cover. It was dark, so she hoped the blackness under the stone counter would keep her hidden. She cursed herself for delaying so long – she should never have let herself get so lost in that book!

Just a few moments later, a strange, short, dog-like creature came into view, followed by a girl that was dressed in a white night-robe and had long reddish brown hair that came down past her shoulders. At first Tat didn't recognize either of them – after all, it had been a while – but after she forced herself to calm down she realized who she was staring at.

The two figures at the doorway of the room were those Popka and Lolo.

_Can that really be her?_ Tat wondered. For a moment, she was almost jealous. Tat still looked pretty much the same as she always had. She hadn't grown, hadn't changed at all, at least in appearance. She never would much. But Lolo, now in her late teens, had grown much taller, and, since Tat had last seen her, developed much more of a "figure". Her hair had been grown out much longer as well, giving her what was actually a rather attractive appearance. Tat still looked mostly like a child, much to her own annoyance.

Eventually though, she dismissed those thoughts lightly – reminding herself that no one was as _cute_ as her – and instead focused on what Lolo and her companion were up to, wondering what they could possibly be doing by the High Priestess' chamber in the middle of the night.

"I don't know exactly…" Popka admitted, finally answering Lolo's previous question. "But I just have a feeling that _Lydia_ person is up to something. Don't tell me you don't feel the same way, I saw the way you were staring at her!" "…Popka, don't be silly, I –" "Oh c'mon, don't deny it, I know how much you hate her!" Lolo didn't even get a chance to finish speaking before her companion interrupted. "It's a known fact that you don't trust her either! And not to mention she's an outsider – she only recently came! There must be something up, people don't just come from far away and work hard enough to become the High Priestess at a place they aren't even native to for no apparent reason!" Popka spurted out quickly. "And I for one don't –"

"Could you _please_ keep your voice down a little?" This time it was the Priestess' turn to interrupt. "And calm down, you're just being overly suspicious. Okay, so she is a little...err..._strange_, but that doesn't mean she isn't knowledgeable – I can see why she was picked, as much as I hate to admit it. While it's true that I don't particularly like her either, I really don't think she's up to anything wrong…"

Popka moaned. "No offense, but you really can still be naïve sometimes!" The dog-like creature shook his head, trying to cool off. Lolo looked down with a _humph_, slightly hurt.

"…Look," Popka continued after a moment, a bit more diplomatically. "Lydia was left alone in the room for the first time today, and was there until bed to get acquainted with her soon-to-be home. All I want to do is take a peek and see what she did while she was there, now's our last chance before she moves in permanently."

"Wait, you're not actually _going in there_, are you?" The tone of Lolo's voice changed completely. "Of course I am! Why else would I have come here?" Popka stated simply. They both sounded like they were becoming frustrated.

"But you can't! No one's allowed in there without direct permission." The Priestess insisted. Popka sighed again. "It's the middle of the night Lolo, who's going to see us? We'll just go in, take a quick look around, and then go to sleep again, all right?"

Lolo shook her head. "No way, I'm not going in – if I got caught I'd be in _serious_ trouble, and I can't have that now – not when I'm finally starting to fit in! You can do this by yourself, if you insist. I'm not coming with you this time! …I'm going to go back to bed…" "Lolo, what?" Popka turned back from the doorway, slightly startled by her strong reaction.

But she didn't hear him, or at least, pretended not to, as she trudged down the dark hallway back to her dorm.

It was as she was leaving that Popka took a few steps into the room himself, quickly glancing around and catching site of the out-of-place book much quicker than Tat had. "Lolo, wait! There's –" "Goodnight, Popka." She interrupted sternly, her voice faded from far down the hall. He frowned. "Fine! Then I'll just have to check it out myself." He said quietly, more to himself than anyone.

Taking a quick look around, he slowly walked further into the room Tat was hiding in. The thief, who had been thoughtfully listening to the whole conversation, took care to keep silent as the dog-like creature approached the table she was beneath.

He hadn't changed much either, she thought as she got a better look at him. Like her, he still was pretty much the same in appearance as she remembered, though perhaps just a bit larger.

She heard him flipping through the pages, mumbling to himself as he wondered whether on not the strange book was of any significance to his suspicions.

"Can she even read this?" He muttered quietly as he carefully lifted the large object off of the table and closer to his line of vision, struggling to see the strange, foreign words. He didn't have the night vision Tat possessed, and for him the numerous letters and pictures were blurring together. The book however, was much heavier than he anticipated, and it fell clumsily from his grip, bumping off the edge of the table and falling open to the floor with a loud _thud_.

Tat heard Popka curse as he quickly bent over to try to pick it up, praying that it wasn't damaged, and that no one had heard.

With a silent gasp, the hiding thief pressed herself against the nearest table leg, trying to be invisible as the dog-like investigator leaned over to where she could be plainly in sight. She kept her single eye closed, not letting it reflect the dim light that was coming in through the windows.

Regardless, the white side of her body stood out a bit in the darkness, and as Popka fumbled with the book's weight, it eventually caught his eye.

"Hmm…what?" He reached out carefully, hand open to grab whatever it was that was hidden under the table. However, the second he made contact, the object jerked, and a yellow eye flew open.

They both shrieked at almost the same time, their cries echoing down the halls.

Surely someone had heard that.

"Tat?" Popka just stared in amazement, almost unable to believe his eyes as she realized what he was seeing.

Panicked, the thief scurried out from her hiding place while her discoverer was still stunned. She looked around quickly for the money box she had been originally sent to find, dismay filling her when she didn't immediately see it. Leorina would be furious if she came back empty-handed, especially considering how much time she had already taken.

Tat didn't have time to search, however. Doors could be heard opening from throughout the corridors, and the sound of groggy voices was slowly filling the area nearby. Some of the temple's occupants had been awakened.

If she stayed there any longer, she could be found out, and that was something the thief couldn't risk.

Not knowing what else to do, Tat grabbed the mysterious book that was still lying on the floor. Like Popka, she had some trouble lifting it, but she had to leave with _something_. Leorina still wouldn't be happy, but maybe they could sell the strange object for a fair amount of money anyway – surely there must be some old collector somewhere that would go crazy over it… Or at least, she hoped.

Out of time, she hurried towards a window that she had noticed in the corner of the room by the shelves. It was high up, by she managed to half-jump, half-float to the top shelf. She couldn't help that a few things were pushed off in the process, terrible cracks heard as the rare items hit the ground.

Thankfully, despite it's fancy design, the window was in fact the kind that could be opened. It was a bit stiff, but she managed somehow and quickly made her exit, still carrying the book. She closed the window before leaping off the outdoor sill, hoping that it would look less suspicious that way.

After she made her landing on the soft grass that covered the grounds around the temple, she immediately hurried back towards the front of the building from the outside – headed in the direction of the place where her partner was waiting.

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_Hmm… Perhaps a bit long for just a prologue – I don't seem to be very good at keeping things short. ...Well, anyway, please let me know what you think!_


	2. Chapter One: Tempting Propositions

**Disclaimer:** I, as I'm sure you expected, do not in any way own Klonoa or any related characters. The Klonoa series is owned by Namco.

_Finally the first full chapter of this fic is done! Note that even though the Kingdom of Sorrow's real name was never mentioned in the actual story of Lunatea's Veil, I will be referring to it as Hyponia sometimes in this story – the name that appears for it in LV's music player. _

* * *

**Chapter One:**

The air pirate gazed over at the direction where her partner had disappeared over an hour ago, wondering what was keeping her. It was a simple enough task – get the money, and get out. Admittedly, she was beginning to worry. What could be going on?

The older thief fiddled absentmindedly with the black cuffs of the silver jacket she was wearing, her attire having changed from what she had worn all those years before, when she had last been near the temple. Her thoughts were elsewhere as she waited patiently; the only sound reaching her ears the bubbling of one of the brooks in the cathedral's gardens, and the peaceful whistling of the early-rising birds as they went about their own daily lives. It almost startled the pirate when she at last heard someone call her name, the

stillness of the courtyard penetrated by a high-pitched feline yell.

"Leorina, I'm back!" Tat called as she neared their aircraft, making her partner lift her head. "Shush, unless you want to wake the whole of La-Lakoosha! …In any

case…good, I was beginning to wonder if all the Priestesses had gotten you." She joked dryly. "…Hmm? What's that?" It hadn't been long before Leorina had noticed the large book in the feline's hands.

"Oh…this?" Tat gazed at the object in her paws casually. "It's…umm, well…I'm not quite sure exactly…but, it looks valuable!" "Tat…" Leorina groaned, reading her partner's actions easily. Tat certainty hadn't changed much, even though she was older now she still had the same childish attitude. At this point, Leorina sometimes felt that she could tell exactly what puppet-like feline was going to say just by looking at her expression, minutes before the words were actually spoken. "You do have the money, don't you?" "Err…" Her partner was hesitant to answer. "I…it was that stupid dogs fault!" "What dog?" The older air pirate questioned, exasperated. "The one that was always with that Priestess girl, you remember?" Tat explained.

Leorina blinked, trying to think of who her companion could be referring to. "You mean, what was his name…the odd little thing that was always with Lolo?" "Yeah! It was him… – Popka!" Tat tattled, changing her voice to that of a whine. "He came into the room to get into some _mischief_ of his own before I could find the money box you mentioned! The only thing that I had time to grab was this weird book here!" Leorina's voice rose. "You mean he _saw_ you?"

"Umm…" The feline sputtered. Leorina just sighed. "Tat! You know better than letting yourself be seen! This isn't something new." The puppet-like creature frowned. "But…but, I didn't know they were coming – it's not _my_ fault if they decided to take a stroll at two in the morning!"

Leorina shook her head tiredly. "Whatever. Just let me take a look at the book!" With that she practically snatched the heavy object from Tat's arms, the feline shying back slightly. She flipped through the crinkled, delicate pages as quickly as she could without ripping them, debating how much it could be sold for. It certainly looked old. She looked fleetingly at the strange words, but she didn't stop passing through them until she felt the same bookmark Tat that had cut herself on.

She looked at the marked page carefully. "Oh!" Tat finally remembered what she had been thinking before. "Doesn't that ring remind you of the big ring that that fuzzy guy had? The ring that we tried to copy once?" "Hmm…" Leorina put a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "I don't recognize this language. Tat, was this really in the High Priestess' room?"

"Yeah, it was sitting open on the table…" The feline answered, confused. "Really…" Leorina's voice trailed off for a moment. "Well, in any case, let's get out of here quickly, before someone comes looking for you."

And with that, they started the motor of their plane, lifting off the ground before Popka could tell the other's what he had seen.

- - - - - - - - -

"Popka, what were you thinking! You're guilty and you know it!" The dog-like creature flinched as the Priestess glared down at him angrily. "But I'm telling the truth! I swear! Okay, so I did go into her room, but I didn't take that stupid book and I didn't knock those things down!"

Lolo just shook her head. "You expect anyone to believe that Tat did it? – We haven't heard from either her or Leorina for years!" "I know, but…she was there! It was her! Honest!" Lolo sighed, giving up. Popka just looked down, shamed.

The new High Priestess, Lydia, watched the two argue from the corner – it was actually quite entertaining – she had never been fond of neither Lolo nor her obnoxious companion. And on her first real day of the job too, it hadn't taken them long to stir up trouble.

As much as she liked to be able to place blame on one of them, it somehow seemed un-likely to her that that dog-thing had her book, and she needed to find it desperately. She fiddled with her foot distractedly. If she didn't have it by the next new moon – the day halfway through the Lunatean year – all of her efforts thus far would be in vain.

Leorina and Tat, huh? She had heard of those two. Maybe it wouldn't do any harm to at least look for this "Tat".

- - - - - - - - - -

Leorina guzzled down the cup of alcohol in front of her, Tat resting peaceably on her shoulder as she slumped over one of the tavern's tables. The place was a dump, but it was affordable no less.

"What are you thinking about Leorina?" The feline asked her quiet companion, rather bored. "Oh…it's nothing." They had left the book back in their plane, but the older air pirate still couldn't get it out of her mind.

She recalled her days as an apprentice in La-Lakoosha. She seemed to remember having heard something about that book, in the edges of her memories. Something the High Priestess had said once, but the thought kept eluding her – much to her frustration.

"Hey babe, what's a pretty face like you doing in a place like this?" A nearby male voice suddenly asked. The air pirate raised her head to look up at the source of the comment. The owner was a heavy-set wolverine-like man, standing far too close for comfort. She could smell the stench of his foul breath and his fur was almost brushing against the back of her chair. One of the tavern's regulars no doubt, he appeared to be part of some gang. More than likely, he was completely drunk.

She turned away from the intruder, trying to ignore him. She wasn't in the mood for this.

The wolverine grimaced, Tat yelping as a pair of angry clawed fists banged against the table, close to Leorina's face. "Answer me when I am talking to you!" The intruder's words were slurred. "Ekk, let's go Leorina, I don't like him…" Tat whined close to her partner's ear.

Leorina, refusing to say a word to the disgrace, turned to the door, but felt a rough hand grip her empty shoulder. "Where do you think you're goin' missy?" With a quick yank, Leorina felt herself pulled backwards, towards the drunken wolverine's flabby body, but this time her patience was broken.

Furious, she kicked a booted foot against the brute's stomach, knocking him backward. She had surprising strength in her lithe form, at least, more than did the tavern regular who's bulky hulk was made more of fat than muscle.

With a furious cry, the assaulter growled and struggled to his feet, launching a heated charge towards her. She dodged coolly to the side, causing the rather clumsy wolverine to practically trip over his own feet.

"Bitch!" He yelled, almost spitting in his rage. Humiliation was mixed with the fury on his face, his companions giving a chuckle as they watched him force his hulk up again.

Leorina was now strutting calmly towards the exit of the sweaty building, satisfied that she had shown she was not to be messed with. But as she neared the door, a couple of her offender's rather large companions rushed out in front of her. "Leaving so soon? Why don't you stay and…play…awhile." A huge bear-like creature said threateningly, balling his hands into fists.

With a groan of disgust, the air pirate took a step backward, away from the stinking bulk, only to find that the rest the wolverine's group had come up behind her. Tat shrieked in surprise, stirring up a few laughs from the surrounding crowd.

They took a few steps closer, closing in on her. "What's wrong? Not so tough now are ya?"

She backed up against the left wall of the building, completely out-numbered.

Despite their size, she wouldn't have been frightened at all facing one or two alone, for she's been in far worse situations before. But now, with seven of them completely bordering her on all sides, surrounded by narrow, rusty walls, she could feel her heart start to beat faster.

Not knowing what else to do, she felt herself reach for the belt that was partially hidden beneath her long black jacket. When she pulled her hand out, her fingers were wrapped around the handle of a gun, resting on the trigger defensively. Her attackers drew back a bit in surprise.

In the time since she had begun the re-construction of the Kingdom of Sorrow, Hyponia, Leorina had acquainted herself with all sorts of weapons, though she carried with her usually a single gun and a knife.

The tavern owner, having become used to seeing these types of skirmishes, hadn't become startled until he saw the firearm. Finally leaving his post behind the bar table, he scuttled up towards the fighting group. "C'mon now, break it up! Ma'am, put down your weapon – we'll have none o' that here!"

None of them even looked at him. He gulped, feeling a bit intimidated by the daunting group. He was an odd sort to own such a rough tavern, having a very short and petite build, with rodent-like characteristics. "Ma'am please! Everyone, back up and let her leave!"

"Go hide behind your table, runt!" The bear-like man shouted toward the much smaller rodent creature, who shrunk away in fear. "Leave us to our business!" He finished, turning back towards the silver and black dressed female. "Any of you take one step closer and I'll shot!" Leorina rebutted, her eyes as cold and determined as ice.

Just when it looked like things were about to get ugly, the building's old wooden door creaked open with its usual hiss.

A new feminine figure appeared, silhouetted by the dim early-morning light that washed into the window-less building. The delicate looking woman walked in casually, obviously not intimidated by the rough, tense atmosphere in anyway whatsoever.

Leorina only looked out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to take her gaze off of her attackers, though it appeared that they themselves had turned to look more sharply. "That's the new High Priestess!" One of them yelled in surprise, recognizing her quickly.

"Indeed." The La-Lakooshan leader herself confirmed, her eyes busy scanning the room and it's inhabitants as she entered further into the musty building.

That was the new High Priestess? The successor to her once mentor? At first Leorina could hardly believe it, not until she recognized the symbol on her garb anyway.

She was wearing the typical robe of the Priestess ruler, but, however, instead of the usual hat, her long black hair was hanging down almost to her waist, and she wore a dark gray hooded jacket – making herself blend in a bit more to the strange environment she had entered. She was much shorter and younger than the previous High Priestess, but she was far more beautiful, with eyes as dark a blue as the midnight sky.

Leorina could tell, however, that she was not truly native to the place she now ruled. She was obviously the same species as her typical La-Lakooshan subjects, and well, the air pirate herself, but her ears were more pointed, and her features more delicate and trim, giving her a rather elf-like appearance overall.

But what would a person with her position be doing at a place like that dump of a tavern?

"Oh…oh! Good evening madam, it's not often we get someone as important as you here. What would you like, can I bring you anything?" The rodent host hurried up to her, obviously as surprised to see her there as anyone else. "I'm not here for a drink, mouse." She said surprisingly smugly, wiping the smile off the small creature's face.

The new High Priestess took a few more confident steps toward the squabbling group, gazing over each one of them as if looking for someone.

Leorina's attackers took a few steps back, almost crouching down as if in fear that the forces of light would suddenly fall upon them – punishment for the sins they had surely committed. It looked a bit odd, them with their large hulks flinching away for such a petit, un-assuming, figure.

She had come alone, which was also a bit strange, considering how much of an important person she now was. There were many who would relish a chance to strike her down. Usually, whenever the High Priestess left the temple, which was actually hardly ever, she was accompanied by a host of bodyguards for obvious reasons. Did anyone even realize she had left? Leorina couldn't help but wonder if the new High Priestess had snuck out of her own temple.

The air pirate also knew, from the time she had spent as a young apprentice, that Priestesses were never armed, even for the high-ranking officials it was forbidden.

It was a dangerous act indeed, but it was obvious from the intention in her eyes that the ruling Priestess had come with a purpose. Despite, realizing that however, Leorina was certainly not prepared for what she said next.

"Now, let's get cut to the chase. I'm looking for someone. Would there by chance be a pirate here by the name of Leorina?" No one spoke, but the temple ruler gazed over expectantly at the gun-wielding woman. She had heard that her target often stopped by at this particular tavern.

The pirate herself felt Tat flinch slightly on her shoulder, probably hoping that it wasn't about her. Leorina was caught off guard for a moment before she finally raised an eyebrow. "What is it that you want with me?"

A sly smile lit the Priestess' mouth. "I believe that you may have something that I want. Would it be possible for us to discuss this matter outside?"

She spoke her almost overly polite words with a slight accent, making her unusual heritage even more obvious.

The older air pirate thought for a moment, realizing that she had only one thing that the La-Lakooshan ruler could possibly be looking for. Eventually, she nodded. Curious as to why a simple book was important enough for the High Priestess herself to have come all the way out there alone, to one of the roughest tavern's in Lunatea, to retrieve it.

"Perfect." The temple ruler's eyes lit up. "Come with me."

"Wait a sec pirate, who said you could leave?" The wolverine-like man piped up once again. Leorina almost rolled her eyes as she lifted the gun back up once more, ready to threaten him again, but the Priestess beat her too it.

With the flick of a single delicate finger, and a small flash of ice blue light, the wolverine was suddenly gasping for breath with his hands around his neck, finding himself unable to breath. He stumbled backwards in panic, falling against the wall once again. None of his friends attempted to help him, only staring from him to the High Priestess with horror and shock written on their faces.

The La-Lakooshan ruler's eyes were as cold as ice as she watched him struggle, slowly strangling. She stood steadfast as stone, waiting until his fighting began to cease before she at last lifted her spell. By then it was almost to late, the wolverine falling limply to the ground with a thud. All of his companions crowded around his un-moving body as they began trying the shake him awake, their drunken faces pale with distress.

For a silent moment, the air pirate thought that the Priestess had killed him, but as a his friends shook him violently, trying frantically to rouse him, the wolverine at last took a breath – a ragged, desperate gasp.

He was shaking as he looked up at the person that had nearly killed him, his eyes wide with terror.

No one said a word as the new queen of light left the building, Leorina following slowly behind, staring with amazement at the faces full of fright.

The tavern-keeper, who had decided that the small area behind the table might not be such a bad place after all, let a sigh of relief escape from his mouth as the two women left the bar. The rodent wiped away the stray strands of black hair that had fallen on his tan face, feeling the heat of his sweaty forehead. He didn't need any more days like this.

- - - - - - - - - -

The small group stopped in the shadow of Leorina's plane, partially hidden from sight. With shifting eyes, the High Priestess took a quick, cautious gaze around to make sure that no one was listening – though she doubted that anyone in the tavern would dare after her previous display. The air pirates simply waited in silence.

Tat's muscles remained tense, the feline only able to pray that her failure hadn't ruined her leader. She didn't want to be responsible if they ended up in jail. Could there maybe be another reason that the La-Lakooshan ruler had come to speak with them, perhaps something in regards to the rebuilding of Hyponia? Her optimism didn't last long however, her hopes dashed by the new High Priestess' next words.

"Okay, now on to business. That thing on your shoulder would your partner, Tat, correct?" The delicate-looking woman's features hardened. Leorina felt the puppet-like creature flinch. With an inward sigh, the air pirate nodded casually – there was no point in denying anything now. The La-Lakooshan could call the authorities on them either way, and if they tried to play innocent now it might only make things worse in the future. "Charming." The ruling Priestess said in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

"And I take it that I am also justified in my assumption that you two are in possession of a certain book, one that went 'mysteriously' missing from my room sometime last night." Neither of the two air pirates said anything, but the temple leader continued anyway. "As you may have guessed by now, I have come to see that it is returned to where it belongs…"

Leorina leaned up against the side of her own plane indifferently. "And why may I ask is it so important to you, Priestess." She questioned rather bitterly, tired of dealing with her overly polite, snobby attitude. There was a flare in the other woman's eyes. For a moment, she hesitated "Please…call me Lydia. And I would prefer if you would just hand it back to me now thief, so that I can be on my way without any trouble. As I'm sure you know, I am a very busy person, and I don't have time for trifling questions from pirates that aren't entitled to the answers to such simple ponderings."

Now Leorina was really starting to lose her patience. "Why have you come all the way out here yourself? Why not just call the cops?" A sly smile lit Lydia's face. "Actually, I had come to make a deal with you. I am more than happy to let that dog thing take the blame, I not a big fan of him or his companion you see, so if you just give me back my book, then no one will have to know about your little heist, and you can keep on rebuilding your precious kingdom. It seems I am actually doing you a favor, no?"

Actually, there was another reason that the High Priestess had wanted to retrieve the book herself. Though she had told the rest of the temple occupants that her chamber had been invaded and a book stolen, she had never specified which one. And she wanted it to stay that way. If she called the police on the thieves, the information about which book had been taken would surely be released. Someone would recognize it. And she was not even supposed to have had that particular piece of writing in her room to begin with.

She cursed herself now for just leaving it lying on the table like that. Although it was true that no one had been supposed to enter the chamber, she should have been more cautious. She had been in a hurry, sure, but…

The older sky pirate could easily sense that there was more that she wasn't saying. "You weren't supposed to have that book at all, were you?" Leorina said with an edge of cunning in her voice. She all at once had remembered what she had been trying to recall before – when that same book had come up, back when she had been in training at the Priestess' temple.

Lydia tensed, but only for a moment. "You're mistaken thief, that book is public property of the La-Lakooshan temple. Though it's not like I could expect a simple pirate to know anything about the inner-workings of our church to begin with."

"No." Leorina insisted. "I remember from the days I worked as an apprentice in La-Lakoosha. That book is forbidden, I ran across it one day after finding and sneaking into secret area in the basement. It was taken from me immediately, and I was brought to the current High Priestess for a lovely little lecture. I didn't get in trouble exactly…but she said that that particular piece of literature was not owned by the temple, rather, something that they guarded there. And that it was something left behind by, quote, 'a world that no longer exists'."

In truth, Leorina had looked for the book for the rest of her apprenticeship ever since, hoping that it might have secrets leading to the power she had desired. It had, however, been quickly moved after she had discovered it, and she had never been able to find it again – much to her disappointment. She left that little part out, though.

Lydia's expression changed. "Wait, you trained as an apprentice?"

Leorina stumbled over her words for a moment, not expecting that to be the part of her speech that the Priestess called her on. "Umm…well, I did…once. But that was a long time ago." Regardless, the pirate noticed a slight sparkle in Lydia's eyes. "If that's true, then I could actually use your help." This easily surprised Leorina more than anything else the High Priestess had said so far. "But I never graduated, I left before I ever became a full Priestess, and I like it that way."

"Doesn't matter." Lydia answered quickly. "If you were an apprentice, that means that you must've had the temple's first initiation ritual, you can still be of service to me!" "What…?" Leorina looked at her strangely.

"Look, you like money right?" The Priestess answered with a voice full of hauteur. "And you strike me as someone who could keep a secret – I've heard impressive things about you. I would like you to meet me at my chamber tomorrow evening – I have an interesting proposition for you – and don't fret, you will be paid well. And speaking of such matters…" She hesitated for a moment, recalling what the pirate had said about the book. "You do know more than you would seem to. I'll pay you extra money for keeping my secret about the book."

Leorina thought for a moment, she didn't like the idea of going back inside the temple. She had promised herself that she'd never walk through those same doors the day she left. And obviously, something wasn't quite right.

The air pirate's logic told her that it might be best not to get involved in whatever the new High Priestess had planned, but somehow she couldn't just let it go – her curiosity and her love of money getting the better of her judgment. After all, it wouldn't do any harm to at least hear what the Priestess had to say, right?

"Very well. Tomorrow evening. I wont make any promises, but I'll listen to this 'proposition' of yours." She finally decided. She saw Tat give her a weird look out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it for the moment.

"Great." Lydia smiled, her eyes shinning. "I'll be waiting, and don't worry about getting inside. I'll alert the guards and make sure that you get a fair welcome at the temple's main entrance. Just come right on in. I would however, like to have the book back now – it wouldn't be good if one of them caught sight of it, as you seem to already know."

With a reluctant nod, Leorina reached into where she had hidden the old piece of writing in her plane, pulling it out gently from beneath her seat. It probably hadn't been the safest place to hide it, but she had thought it better than taking the valuable object into the tavern itself.

The Priestess quickly snatched it, her eyes shinning with satisfaction. She toyed with the bookmark that was sticking out from the latter half of the book, noting that it was still there. She knew those pages by heart now, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder if the two rouges had looked that section over as well.

With a small, polite bow, the High Priestess called Lydia turned and abruptly began walking off, carefully pulling the hood further over her face. "Tomorrow evening, pirate." She looked back but once, obviously in a hurry to get on with the rest of the plans on her unknown agenda.

It wasn't long before she was out of sight, vanishing beneath the crest of the hill the tavern was located on. Leorina wondered how she had gotten there by herself to begin with, or how she was planning to get back to La-Lakoosha, but she dismissed the thought as un-necessary.

"What were you thinking Leorina?" Tat yelped as soon as she was sure the new High Priestess was out of hearing range. "We can't make a deal with _her_ of all people. I mean, she's the High _Priestess_. And besides, how do we know that it's not a trap! I bet that sadistic snob would love to see us walk right in and get seized by the cops! And that way she wouldn't necessarily have to specify which book we stole either, since she already has it back!" Tat thought about what Popka had said earlier that night, apparently he'd been more right than he knew – the temple's new ruler was indeed up to something shady.

Leorina shook her head. "I don't know why she'd bother. Since she's apparently getting into things she isn't supposed to, I don't think she'd want the place swarmed. And aside from that, she seemed genuinely surprised when she learned that I had once been an apprentice, I want to hear what she has to say."

"But…" Tat objected, though her partner didn't even give her a chance to continue. "And, if it makes you feel better, the burden of rebuilding Hyponia would most likely fall on the shoulder's of her kingdom if we were arrested, since La-Lakoosha is in general the most mature of the Lunatean kingdoms. I'm sure that she doesn't want that."

Tat looked down, silenced. She didn't want to get involved in this, but couldn't find a way to argue with her leader's logic. Maybe she was just being silly.

Besides, the Priestess _was_ rich, if she was in fact being truthful, perhaps they could end up with even more money than they had set out for originally – maybe even enough to keep some for themselves. She smiled slightly at this idea, all the money that they had recently had been going into the reconstruction of the Kingdom of Sorrow.

Leorina stared silently off into the distance for a moment, in the direction the hooded figure had disappeared. Despite the promise of money, and the knowledge that the Priestess wasn't going to have them arrested, the older air pirate couldn't help but wonder what they were getting themselves into.

A quick, short shiver of apprehension spread up her spine, though the rouge quickly dismissed it with a simple shake of her head. "Come on Tat, let's go back to the Kingdom of Sorrow for now."

- - - - - - - - - -

Lydia smiled as she reached the bottom of the hill, well out of sight of the two pirates.

The area where the tavern had been located was on neutral ground, not within the borders of any kingdom. The shore of the Sea of Tears was clearly visible in the distance, the area in front of her slowly giving way to a rocky beach.

The High Priestess stopped for a moment, breathing in the sweet, salty air. She had heard that once, before she had ever come to La-Lakoosha, the Sea of Tears had once almost completely dried up, revealing the Kingdom of Sorrow for the first time – and in part due to that certain air pirate herself.

It was hard to believe that now though, as she looked over towards the deep, thriving body of water. The sea had refilled soon after, the Kingdom of Sorrow now floating on top of the waves. No one knew quite how, or where the water had gone to begin with, but nature had healed itself, as always.

She hurried down to the sea's edge, towards the place where she had arrived earlier that day.

Climbing down a short, rocky edge, the small wooden boat she had come in came into her view, along with the two dark figures that waited beside it. Both of the shady shapes lifted their heads as they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. One resembled a panther in build, the other more like a wolf with a few golden markings.

The La-Lakooshan ruler smiled as she padded up to them, the heavy object still in hand earning her a returning grin from one of the black furred shapes. "So you've retrieved the book, I see. How many throats did you have to slit for this one?" The panther-like creature asked in a husky, feminine voice, her deep yellow gaze traveling over to what the Priestess held in her arms.

"Why, not a one, dearie." Lydia spoke, her voice horribly fake and sweet. The black feline grimaced, annoyed at her tone. "So no one found out about the book? What about the thieves themselves?"

"Don't worry, they'll be keeping quiet about it, unless they want to get arrested – they seemed eager enough to let the whole heist disappear, now that they've been caught. I told them I wouldn't call the police if they didn't tell anyone about the book." The High Priestess explained.

"You mean you just let them go?" The other, wolf-like, figure piped up, his voice incredulous.

Lydia shrugged innocently. "They seem honorable for pirates, and they weren't stupid – they can't prove I have the book without admitting that they at least broke into my chamber, so they wont even try. And aside from that, I think they may be able to help us. The older was once an apprentice…it seems I may not have to go asking underground in my own temple for an ally after all…"

The panther twitched an ear. "So she agreed to help us, just like that?" "She will." The Priestess answered simply. "I'm meeting with her tomorrow. I'll have to bribe her of course, but it should still be worth it in the long run. Just chill you two, I have it all under control."

"Never-mind that you're the one that left the book lying in the open to begin with." The wolf mocked sarcastically.

Lydia frowned, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, shut up Guntz! This will turn out to be a plus for us overall, and I've gotten the book back without any problems."

"Pity you're the only one that can decipher it, otherwise I'd suggest it come back with us." The panther said in voice that didn't disguise her frustration. "And don't mess things up with this so-called 'pirate'. We're on a time limit you know!"

Lydia turned her gaze to the left for a moment, ignoring her companion's ranting, and looking to where the Bell of Tranquility could be seen in the distance – closer to the sky than the crests of any of the nearby hills. "I should probably hurry back now, before anyone realizes I've gone. Just take me back to the beach closest to the cathedral, and I'll walk back from there."

She recited the instructions hurriedly, already entering the boat. The other two figures followed, the wolf apparently called Guntz rolling his eyes as he started up the motor – neither him nor the panther too happy with the ruling Priestess' company, though it wasn't like they had a choice but to put up with it. They needed her, and, simply put, there was no way around that.

It wasn't long before the three were already almost on the border of La-Lakoosha, their boat cutting easily through the calm waves that lapped at its side.

* * *

_Okay, well, hopefully you didn't find that too confusing – it will all get cleared up in due time. _

_Note that since, like I already mentioned, this takes place after Lunatea's Veil without any other games in-between, Klonoa has never met Guntz before, and I've put him in a slightly different scenario here. _

_I think I'm going to give my full attention to "The Dark Sapphire" again though until I get the next chapter of that up, so unless I get another bad case of writer's-block with that fic don't expect an update here for a little while. _

_...As always...please review!_


	3. Chapter Two: Another World, An Agreement

**Disclaimer:** I, as I'm sure you expected, do not in any way own Klonoa or any related characters. The Klonoa series is owned by Namco.

_This is a relatively short, dialogue extensive chapter that I wrote pretty quickly. But nevertheless, it is the actually very important as the plot is finally explained here. …More or less anyway. The fic should start picking up after this.

* * *

_

**Chapter Two:**

It was dusk when the two air pirates stepped out of their plane and onto the soil of La-Lakoosha once again. It was the day after they had last talked to the High Priestess, and Leorina had kept her word about coming.

The area around the temple was beautiful in the evening, but despite the calming nature of the place, neither one of the rouges could help but feel a bit apprehensive. Tat took a quick glance back as the two of them walked up the stone path to the main door.

"Do you think it's really okay for us to just leave the Crimson Iris there?" She asked, referring to their plane. They had parked it out in the open, something that seemed un-natural for them to do in such a place. Leorina nodded. "Why not? We were invited this time after all." "I still don't like this Leorina…" Tat muttered quietly. "Relax a little, would you? We've done things much more risky than this before. This could be a big break for us; I at least want to find out what she wants." The older air pirate replied, sounding as casual and collected as ever. "Besides, the construction of Huyponia is almost complete, what are we going to do with ourselves after? I'll admit I'm starting to miss our good old days…" She added on the last sentence more quietly, but Tat's ears still caught it. "But Leorina…" Her words came out as nothing more than a sigh however – she already knew there was no point in arguing.

The silver stairway leading to the main entrance was a rather intimidating sight to behold. Marble statues and pots lined the side, filled with ferns, plants, and some strange sort of white and fuchsia flowers. There was also a glass archway above, vines of ivy and white buds creeping their way up the sides. Leorina couldn't help an inward sigh; everything still looked the same as when she had last walked down the same path as an apprentice.

The huge door had an old-fashioned looking stone knocker installed in the middle, bearing the crest of La-Lakoosha. Leorina reached out for the cement ring hanging from it and banged it against the door sternly, causing a hollow-sounding echo to resound throughout the inside of the building. Nothing happened.

Just as the air pirate was about to reach out to knock again, the door suddenly started to open with a creak, Tat quickly scurrying up to her older partner's shoulder.

Two Priestesses were standing on either side of the new opening, dressed not in the normal attire of their peers, but rather with shimmering silver armor on their limbs and chests, and an intricately designed staff in each of their hands. Both were tall, with their hair pulled up into their hats. They were probably well versed in offensive skills.

"Who's there? …Hurry up and state your business here!" One said with her voice steadfast, though it was obvious she was straining it to sound more threatening. She pointed her sharp staff towards the pirates threateningly, almost touching Leorina's chest.

"Calm down, Sia." The second guard, slightly older looking, spoke with a straight, patient voice. "We're supposed to welcome everyone here at the temple, don't use your staff unless you are in need of defense." "But it's also our duty to keep creeps out of our home, and I don't like the look of this…_rouge_ here." The first Priestess, apparently named Sia, argued, eyeing Leorina's outfit haughtily – it hadn't taken her long to guess the pirate's occupation. "Take your staff down!" The older guard ordered, her voice stern now. With a frown, her younger companion did so, screwing up her face as she looked over the pirates.

"My apologies for the behavior of my pupil." The second Priestess said formally, her face straight and un-readable. "What is it that has brought you two here?" She asked. Even though the older guard sounded like they were supposed to let anyone in with open arms, Leorina knew well enough that anyone without good reason for entering would actually be told to leave. "We were invited to have an audience with the High Priestess this evening." Leorina answered simply, trying to sound put-together.

"O-oh, Miss Leorina?" The guard sputtered in surprise. Neither one of them had expected the High Priestess' special guest to look like the person in front of them did now. "We've been expecting you. Please…come in." They never asked her for any proof or I.D., in reality it would have been easy enough for anyone to fake it. Despite the Priestess' strict policies, they weren't hard to trick. Apparently that hadn't changed either.

The air pirate entered through the door slowly, her eyes traveling up and down the walls of the place where she once lived. Buried somewhere in her mind, she still remembered most of the passages throughout the place.

"The High Priestess' private chamber is located on the bottom floor. Go down the flight of steps to either your right or left, then go down the main hall until you reach the dome room, after that head straight down the middle path until you reach the room." The older temple guardian explained, the location of the chamber wasn't necessarily a secret, but she still felt slightly weary of telling _this_ person the exact location word for word. Nevertheless, however, she did. "Knock before you enter." The younger one added, her voice bitter. Leorina just nodded, though both her and Tat already knew well the location of their destination.

"A 'fair welcome', huh?" The puppet-like feline remarked sarcastically, quoting the High Priestess from the day before.

No one stopped them once they actually started walking, however, even though occupants of the temple were constantly hurrying up and down the halls as they passed. During the hours of the day, the temple was a busy place. The whole atmosphere was much more hectic than when Leorina herself had been enlisted there. She actually thought she recognized a few faces here and there, though she made it a specific point to avoid all eye contact. The air pirate also could've sworn she heard Lolo's voice once among the swarm of sounds, but that didn't matter either. She couldn't help a smile though as she recalled the last time she had seen the girl. It had been a while.

Leorina suddenly came to a halt as she approached the large doors of the temple ruler's chamber, snapping herself out of her wandering thoughts. It was almost as if her feet had been guiding her on their own. This time the entrance was closed. The sky pirate walked up to knock.

Lydia swung the door open almost as soon as Leorina had put her hand against it, almost causing the pirate to fall forward in an embarrassing fumble. Lydia either made nothing of it or pretended not to notice. She beckoned them in with a smile. "Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable." She took a sharp glance back at Tat. "Just don't touch anything!" Leorina felt the feline flinch on her shoulder.

As Tat had seen during her raid a couple of nights before, the room was pristine and well-kept – not a single speck of dust defiling the place. The High Priestess probably had help in caring for the chamber. Most of the objects the feline had knocked over had been restored to their places on the shelves as well, though a couple had gone through noticeable repairs…

After a nod from the new High Priestess herself, Leorina sat herself down on an expensive looking gold and red couch near the middle of the room, her partner still on her shoulder. Lydia took a seat across from them, in a neatly matching chair. Both pieces of furniture looked new, making it hard not to wonder if Lydia had bought them for herself after she had been announced for the position.

Leorina was already starting to feel uncomfortable being there.

"Let's get on with this then, what is it you wanted my help in doing?" The older air pirate prompted, not wanting to draw this out. Lydia smiled. Again. She paused for a moment, as if trying to decide where to start.

"Well, to begin with, it's pretty obvious that I'm not actually from La-Lakoosha right, just with the way I look?" Both of the pirates nodded. "What most people don't realize is that I'm not even from Lunatea."

Tat exchanged a glance with the person whose shoulder she rested on, looking skeptical. The Priestess had clearly expected this. "Before you take me for an idiot, let me explain. I come from a world that no longer physically exists – the same world that the book you stole from me is from." She gave Leorina a brief nod, remembering what the pirate had brought up about the object the day before. "Our world never really had a name, nor any sort of organized government or rules. There were those in power; that was it. And their power was based solely on strength – not heritage, entitlement, or anything else. We were all rouges, but we were also very smart. You had to be to survive there. Everyone lived freely, doing as they pleased – it was a place completely different from here, or any of these other so called 'worlds'." She looked up towards Leorina. "As a matter of fact, I bet you would've gotten on quite well there, pirate." Leorina said nothing. Lydia frowned slightly. "…It was my home, but then one day it was taken away from me."

The ruling Priestess paused once more, looking lost in thought for a moment. She didn't get any comments. "Our people discovered a method of traveling between worlds, something apparently un-heard of elsewhere. Our world was rich in magic, and it could be utilized in thousands of ways, many of which, admittedly, were best used for selfish gain. As we starting exploring and learning about new worlds ourselves, it is to be expected that people from these other dimensions started to learn about _us_ as well. They became suspicious. We knew black magic, could go anywhere at any time, and we lived for hundreds of years – many times over the normal lifespan of the average creature. In their eyes we were a threat."

Lydia shuffled a bit in her seat; the whole time never taking her eyes away from Leorina's – despite how insane her words sounded. "To this day, 149 years later, I still don't know what happened, or how they did it, but our world was destroyed. It seems some of the people from those other worlds came up with some pretty powerful magic themselves… Our world was literally un-raveled, its physical form broken. Our people survived, being cast into the other dimensions as we used the last of our world's fading energy. We're homeless, and want nothing more than to restore our world. This is what I was hoping for your assistance with."

She stopped talking, even though she clearly wasn't completely finished explaining everything. The Priestess looked over her two companions, waiting for questions – the first one came quick.

"You're 149?" Tat blurted out, her eyes wide. "256, to be more exact. Still young in my people's terms." Lydia answered simply, as if it was nothing unusual. The feline's eyes grew even wider. "I don't like this person Leorina." Tat whispered to her older companion. "She's completely off her rocker!" Leorina herself didn't know what to think either.

"And how is it that we could help you with this?" She asked curiously, still not sure whether she believed the High Priestess or thought they were just wasting their time with her. There was something convincing about the way she spoke, even though what she said sounded so utterly strange.

"Glad you should ask." Lydia stood up and began to pace around a bit, as if distracted. "You see, there is a method to restore my world, but it isn't something I can do alone. I need the help of a holy person from _this _world, namely…a Priestess."

"But you are a Priestess yourself – the _High_ Priestess even!" Tat objected again. Lydia nodded. "True, but I am not born of this world. I need a Priestess of real Lunatean blood. I became an occupant of the temple myself in hopes that I might find someone I could trust enough to share my story with, someone to help me return home. And also so that I might get a hold of 'the book'. Both tasks of which I knew would be easier the higher my rank increased. The book was my interest in becoming the 'High Priestess' to begin with. Just as you said, pirate, the book is forbidden from all occupants of the temple, but when you're the ruler of this place, things become a lot easier to get away with… I didn't manage to get a hold of it until a few days ago."

"Just what exactly is this book?" Asked Leorina, who was once again becoming exasperated with the strange Priestess. "What makes it so important to you, and why was the temple keeping it from everyone."

"Again, with the help of our magic, prophets from my world foresaw the events that would lead to our world's destruction hundreds of years before it actually took place, though people weren't keen on believing them. I was one of the few that did, which is how I already knew what I did about restoring my world to begin with. Collaborating together, they compiled the book, in hopes that someday the survivors of our world would find it, and the steps to restoring our home contained within. Every one of our world's secrets is contained inside, in exceeding detail. They cast the book here, to Lunatea, hoping that those of us that ended up here after the disaster would find it and resurrect our home…though why they chose this world out of all the others out there I don't know. After they sent it here by itself, it was first found by occupants of the temple those hundreds of years ago – back when our text was still recognized – and they quickly took to hiding it – Lunatea just as afraid of us as any of the other worlds. They didn't want any information about our home leaking out to their normal citizens, and they certainly didn't want any of us to find it."

For a moment none of them said anything, trying to comprehend what the apparently non-Lunatean woman was saying. Leorina was already starting to get a headache.

"What is this _method_, then? What is it you want us to do? Like I said before, I never was anything more than an apprentice." The older sky pirate finally questioned, getting a little fed up with such outrageous claims.

Lydia turned back towards them. "And like I said before, that doesn't matter. As long as you were initiated, it's fine. My magic comes to me from what I learned and my natural ability as a creature of my world – not the temple, or 'Goddess Clair', or whatever. But the same magic that the Priestesses share still runs within your veins as well, regardless of whether you like to think of it that way or not. And that's what I need." The pirate showed no reaction at the pause, consciously trying to keep her face un-readable. "I can't tell you exactly what I need you to do yet, not until I know for sure that I can fully trust you. But believe me when I say this – you will not be harmed, and you won't be put in danger. I will pay you for two things: keeping my secrets, and actually doing your part. And once my world has been reborn, I will also repay you with power. I was one of those that were respected above many others, and I could see to it that you take on a role of great power as well… You can share the same magic as me. Something I'm sure you'd enjoy, would you not, _Leo_."

Leorina's head shot up at the mentioning of her old name, her eyes meeting those of the mysterious Priestess intently. Fire blazed in both of their pupils, and for a moment they just gazed into each other with silence. They were an even match.

"There is someone else I need in order to begin the restoration as well…" Lydia added shadily, as if she were reluctant about mentioning it. "That person…is something called the Dream Traveler."

Leorina and Tat's heads both lifted again. "Oh, you mean that long-eared, fuzzy boy that showed up here before?" Tat asked, obviously quite surprised he'd been brought up. No one had hardly mentioned his name since he'd departed for who knew where those seven or so years ago.

For a moment Lydia seemed startled herself. Then she remembered. The story was that the Dream Traveler's first appearance in Lunatea had eventually led to the re-discovery of the out-casted Huyponia. The same story that the two air pirates in front of her had been involved in – how could she have forgotten. They were the ones that had tried to make a copy of his ring. To this day she still cursed herself for not finding out about the Dream Traveler's presence during that time, not until it was too late. It would have made things much easier, but by the time she heard about him he'd already left Lunatea behind.

"Indeed." She finally nodded. "If that's the description you want to use."

"Does that mean you're going to bring him back to Lunatea?" Tat asked with wonder, giggling inwardly as she recalled memories of his previous visit. Lydia nodded again. The feline's eyes grew even wider. Though still skeptical of the Priestess, she found herself not able to help becoming interested…against her better judgment.

"Just what is it you need him so badly for?" Leorina inquired, also surprised that Lydia had mentioned him. The Priestess turned away again. "That I can't tell you yet either." Her eyes darkened slightly. "You're not going to hurt him, are you?" Tat queried uncertainly, an odd note of concern in her voice.

Lydia smiled once more, but only with the corner of her lips. "I already told you – you're not getting any more details out of me."

Silence. Both of the air pirates knew that she wasn't budging. That was all they were going to get.

The Priestess looked them in the eyes again. "What will it be? Do you except my proposal?"

The words felt heavy on Leorina's lips as she spoke, but how could she resist? "…Yes. I'll accept your task, whatever it is."

Lydia's eyes lit up; the same way they had the evening before. "Good. I thought so."

For a moment there was silence again, just enough to let Leorina wonder if she'd made the right choice, but she decided against saying anything. Apparently, so did Tat.

"Meet me again tomorrow, at the seashore to the west of the temple. I'm not the only person from my world here; I'll introduce you to the rest of my group then." The Priestess grinned. "We have no time to waste. Tomorrow… Tomorrow we will also call the Dream Traveler back to Lunatea, to us…but for that we'll be needing your help."

Leorina and Tat only looked at each other in surprise, their faces un-sure and bewildered.

* * *

_Hopefully that made some sort of sense, it was hard to get all that information written down at once in a logical way. …in any case, stay tuned for the next chapter!_

_Now back to The Dark Sapphire's final installment! …Or rather, the two English essays I've got due for school tomorrow that I should have been working on for the last hour and a half . -(sweatdrop)- _


End file.
